King Sulayman1 was king over all Israel. 2These were his princes: Azariah son of Zadok, the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4and Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5and Azariah son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan was chief minister, and the king’s friend; 6and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labour.
7Sulayman had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year. 8These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim; 9Ben Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher); 11Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath daughter of Sulayman as wife); 12Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan, below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13Ben Geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; also to him belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath daughter of Sulayman as wife); 16Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18Shimei son of Ela, in Binyamin; 19Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.
20Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. 21Sulayman ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Sulayman all the days of his life. 22Sulayman’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal, 23ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River: and he had peace on all sides around him. 25Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Sulayman. 26Sulayman had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27Those officers provided food for king Sulayman, and for all who came to king Sulayman’s table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking. 28They brought barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. 29God gave Sulayman wisdom and very great insight, and understanding as measureless as the sand on the sea-shore. 30Sulayman’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand five. 33He spoke of trees, from the cedar of Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of walls; he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34There came men of all nations to hear the wisdom of Sulayman, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
- 4:1 Sulayman, this Arabic name and the name Solomon are both derived from the Hebrew name Shlomo which means “peace.” ↩︎